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About the course

From the beginning of the academic year, you will be a full member of the department in your school and engage in all areas of school and department life.

You will be based in your school 2 days a week where you will gradually build up your teaching time, observe examples of best practice, participate in tutor group activities and wider professional development. You will have a dedicated mentor who will meet with you formally once a week to discuss your progress and help you succeed.

There will be dedicated professional development sessions delivered at both the University of Derby and at our hub base at The Long Eaton School.

The university sessions will predominantly focus on the Masters level modules and assessment for the PGCE element. The hub sessions have a strong focus on classroom based teaching and learning with lots of practical ideas for you to take away and use.

You will also have subject based sessions with other trainees in your subject area within the alliance. These are led by an experienced practicing classroom teacher to explore the best teaching and learning approaches in your subject.

Interview process

We have a thorough interview process to ensure that we are matching potential trainees to the right schools and departments.

Our interviews involve:

tour of the school

a short teaching task

numeracy and literacy tests (if QTS Skills tests have not already been passed)

and a formal interview with a 5 minute presentation

Full details are provided prior to the interview.

Getting to know trainees background and prior experience has ensured that our placements are successful with 100% retention and completion rates.

How school placements work

All trainees are allocated a main placement school which they are based in during the first year of training. During the second year trainees have a second placement school where they develop their skills in an alternative context.

There are also opportunities during this term to pursue areas of personal interest such as SEND, Overseas visits, Primary and Alternative Provision.

Throughout your placement, you will have a dedicated mentor who will support you and work closely with our Alliance team.

Information regarding all of our placement schools is available on our website: Alliance Schools

We will consider specific requests made by you but may not be able to guarantee your first choice of placement school. Reasonable consideration will be given for travel and personal circumstances.

Fees

The course fees for 2019/2020 are as follows:

Student type

Fees to pay

UK students

£9,250

EU students

£9,250

Studying for a postgraduate degree is a good investment in your future, but you need to carefully consider how you’re going to pay for your course and your living costs.

Most students will be able to apply for loans and depending on where you live and your circumstances, bursaries and scholarships might also be available.

Our postgraduate degrees are competitively priced and all the essential equipment and activities are included.

They vary slightly from course to course depending on what facilities and resources are required. For example, online courses tend to be slightly cheaper because they use fewer facilities.

The most up-to-date fees will be listed on the course page – search for your course on our website and look for the section on fees.

The fees are slightly different depending on whether you normally live in the UK/EU or outside of the EU.

Financial support

You’ll get a bursary of £15,000 if you have a degree of 2:2 or above in any subject.

You don’t have to apply for a bursary - you’ll automatically start receiving it once you begin your course. Find out how you’ll be paid.

Personal qualities

We are looking for ambitious trainee teachers who are passionate and enthusiastic about their subject and have a desire to share that with young people of all abilities in the secondary age range.

Teaching is a very rewarding but demanding job and as such we are looking for trainees who are resilient, committed, reflective and prepared to embrace all aspects of school life.

Other requirements

School Experience would be desirable.

You will need to pass an enhanced DBS check prior to starting the course. This will be completed after an offer of a place has been accepted.

About the training provider

The Northworthy Alliance is a fantastic place to work and train with an excellent reputation for teacher training. We provide bespoke school based training in partnership with the University of Derby. Our Alliance has a straightforward, but powerful vision – ‘Nurture, Challenge, Aspire'.

We have a strong record in training teachers; last year 94% of our trainees completed the year as ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ teachers and all gained employment to start in September. Many of our trainees have secured employment in the local area, with 59% undertaking their NQT year at an Alliance school (2018/19).

You would spend most of the programme in a main placement school, where you gradually take on classes, supported by an experienced mentor and the school coordinator. You are also allocated a Subject Specialist Expert, who leads sessions on the best approaches to teaching your subject. The weekly training day alternates between the university and alliance hub base at Long Eaton; the perfect blend of academic rigour and practical classroom practice.

We offer a range of school placement experiences across our alliance in Derby City and South Derbyshire. The schools vary in size and student profile, enabling us to match you with the right school. We also offer contrasting and enhanced placements, so that you have a rounded experience, such as teaching in alternative provision, primary, SEN schools and even overseas!

Support and advice

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